Top Chef Chicago: Two Knives Down!

My good friend and resident cuisinier Aggie was kind enough to jot down her thoughts on the current cycle of Top Chef:

I used to be one of those people who vehemently swore that they despised reality television. Then came Laguna Beach. And The Hills. And a slew of other not completely worthwhile but highly entertaining reality shows, and I jumped on the bandwagon, fully embracing the mind-numbing crap that is reality TV. Although I have to give props to MTV for its dedication to the reality craze, the guide for my newfound foray into the reality world is Bravo. However, there is one arena in which Bravo’s reality television programming has, in my opinion, failed to maintain it’s initial brilliance. As an aspiring amateur gourmand, I loved Top Chef in the first two seasons more than the Food Network's The Next Food Network Star, Fox's Hell's Kitchen, and all the other food-related reality shows combined. Harold captured my heart, not only with the way he wielded his knife, but with the sexy way he always tucked a pencil behind his ear. Ilan, in my opinion, didn't deserve the title of Top Chef, but the second season as a whole did have some legitimate culinary talent not least embodied by Sam, who was also very easy on the eyes.+/-

Then came the third season filled with nothing but dead weight. The only one that I thought had any real staying power was Trey. After he was eliminated for graciously bearing the blame for a poor performance in a team challenge, the only people left were those who bitched and moaned like pros, but couldn't back it up with the dishes they created. I'll be honest; it got so bad that I stopped watching halfway through the season. If season three were a dish, I'd have to say in the words of head judge Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons, that it was bland, uninspired, and very poorly executed. Sadly, season four seems to be following in the footsteps of season three, leaving me with one question—have the producers decided to forego talent in search of pure entertainment and drama or is there really no talented chef left who wants to be exploited on national TV?? We have been introduced to a lesbian couple, the ubiquitous bad-ass, an anti-establishment dude named Spike, and a weird jittery guy who clearly needs to get back on his meds. The one shining star in the kitchen chaos is Richard Blais, who has been whipping up beautiful creations while sporting a sweet faux hawk. He not only seems to have a masterful understanding of the culinary arts, but actually listens. So many of the unsuccessful chefs have met their downfall in the show because they disregard the challenge and cook whatever they want. Richard, on the other hand, listens to what the judges want and delivers while using unusual flavor combinations and impeccable technique to create contemporary twists on familiar dishes. My reaction to everyone else's cooking has been "I can make that!" I am by no means a master chef, but I do know how to make a well-seasoned pasta salad and a mac & cheese that doesn't dry out.